Leash and Carrying Device for Body Boards

ABSTRACT

The present invention is a sports board assembly with a wrist/ankle tether that can be converted into one or more shoulder straps. A first connector is anchored to the sports board along a center line. A second connector is anchored to the sports board offset from the center line. A tethering system is joined to the first connector and can be selectively connected to the second connector. When the tethering system and the second connector are interconnected, the tethering system forms a shoulder strap that extends from the first connector to the second connector. The shoulder strap can be used to carry the sports board. A third connector can also be used on the sports board. The tethering system can connect the first connector, to the second connect, to the third connector and back to the first connector to form a set of shoulder straps from the tethering system.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/688,034, filed Aug. 28, 2017.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field Of The Invention

In general, the present invention relates to sports boards, such assurfboards, body boards, paddle boards, kite boards, and the like, thatuse tethers to connect the sports board to the rider. More particularly,the present invention relates to the connections that join a tether to asports board and the positions of those connections.

2. Prior Art Description

There are many types of sports and activities that involve a personstanding or sitting on a board. Such sports include, but are not limitedto, surfing, body surfing, paddle boarding, and the like. In many ofthese sports and activities, a tether is used to connect a board to theperson using the board. The tether prevents the board from getting awayfrom the user should the user fall or otherwise separate from the board.The tether is typically connected to the board using an anchoredconnector. The connector typically extends through the width of theboard and provides a point for attaching a tether to the board. Suchanchored connectors are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,483 to Nealy.Tethers that attach to such anchored connectors are exemplified by U.S.Pat. No. 3,931,656 to Thomson.

On a sports board, such as a surfboard or a body board, there are areasthat are commonly in contact with the user's feet or body. This contactarea tends to extend along the center of the sports board and at pointswhere limbs overlap the sports board. When an anchored connector isattached to a sports board, the connection point tends to be outside thecontact area. This is because when a tether connects to an anchoredconnector, a raised obstruction is created. The raised obstruction cancause pain and/or scratches if a person stands or lays on the raisedobstruction. Furthermore, the anchored connector tends to be positionedalong the center line of the sports board. Accordingly, for sportsboards like surfboards, the anchored connector is most commonly setalong the center of the board, near the bottom edge. For sport boardslike body boards, the anchored connection is most commonly set along thecenter of the board, near the top of the board. Having a single anchoredconnector near the top of a sports board or near the bottom of a sportsboard may be convenient for connecting a tether, however, onceconnected, the tether is in a poor position for use in carrying thesports board.

Surfboards, body boards, and other sports boards must be large enough tosupport the weight of a person on water or snow. Accordingly, sportsboards are large and bulky. Consequently, sports boards are notoriouslydifficult to carry. In the prior art, tethers and connections fortethers are ignored since they are poorly placed. Rather, to carry asports board, a carrying assembly with two loops is often provided. Oneloop passes over the top of the sports board. A second loop passes overthe bottom of the sports board. A handle connects the two loops andenables the sports board to be carried. Such prior art carrying devicesare exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 10,575,624 to Davis; U.S. Pat. No.5,695,101 to Frietze; and U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2012/0149259 to Proton.

A problem associated with such prior art carrying devices is that thecarry device, itself, must be left behind or carried when not in use.That is, a person surfing, for example, must either leave the carryingdevice on the beach or carry the device with them when they are surfing.Both options are inconvenient.

A need therefore exists for a way to convert the tether system of asports board into an efficient carrier for the sports board. In thismanner, bulky sports boards become easier to transport and no extracarrying product is needed. This need is met by the present invention asdescribed and claimed below.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a sports board assembly with a wrist/ankletether that can be converted into one or more shoulder straps. Thesports board has a center line. A first connector is anchored to thesports board along the center line. A second connector is anchored tothe sports board that is offset from the center line.

A tethering system is provided that can be used to connect the sportsboard to a person using the sports board. The tethering system is joinedto the first connector and can be selectively connected to the secondconnector. When the tethering system and the second connector areinterconnected, the tethering system forms a shoulder strap that extendsfrom the first connector to the second connector. The shoulder strap canbe used to carry the sports board. A third connector can also be used onthe sports board. The tethering system can connect the first connector,to the second connect, to the third connector and back to the firstconnector to form a set of shoulder straps from the tethering system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference is madeto the following description of exemplary embodiments thereof,considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a sportsboard assembly;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a first anchoring connector used in thesports board assembly;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a second anchoring connector used in thesports board assembly;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the tethering system used in the sportsboard assembly;

FIG. 6 shows the exemplary sports board assembly configured to be wornon a person's back;

FIG. 7 shows an alternate embodiment of a sports board assembly; and

FIG. 8 shows the alternate embodiment of FIG. 7 configured to be worn ona person's back.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Although the present invention composition can be embodied in many ways,only two exemplary embodiments are illustrated. The exemplaryembodiments are being shown for the purposes of explanation anddescription.

The exemplary embodiments are selected in order to set forth two of thebest modes contemplated for the invention. The illustrated embodiments,however, are merely exemplary and should not be considered limitationswhen interpreting the scope of the appended claims.

Referring to FIG. 1 in conjunction with FIG. 2, an improved boardassembly 10 is shown. The board assembly 10 includes a sports board 12and a tethering system 14 that can be used to both tether a person tothe sports board 12 and allow a person to conveniently carry the sportsboard. The sports board 12 can be any sports board that uses a tether.In the illustrated embodiment, the sports board 12 is a body board,which are sometimes referred to as boogie boards in the marketplace. Thesports board 12 has a top surface 16, a bottom surface 18, a front edge20, a rear edge 22 and two side edges 24, 25. The sports board 12 isshown with an imaginary center line 26 for positional reference, whereinthe sports board 12 is symmetrically formed about the center line 26.

Common contact area 28 are shown on the top surface 16 of the sportsboard 12. The contact area 28 shows the points on the top surface 16 ofthe sports board 12 that most commonly come into contact with a person'sbody during use. The contact area 28 typically include the centralregion of the sports board 12 and points where the limbs overlap thesports board 12 when a user is prone on the sports board 12

At least two holes 30, 32 are formed in the sports board 12, wherein theholes 30, 32 extend from the top surface 16 to the bottom surface 18.The holes 30, 32 are formed outside the common contact areas 28. A firsthole 30 is formed on the center line 26 near the front edge 20 of thesports board 12. The second hole 32 is formed in a location that isoffset from the center line 26 near the rear edge 22 of the sports board12. The distance between the first hole 30 and the second hole 32 is atleast forty-five centimeters. The second hole 32 is offset from thecenter line 26 by at least eighteen centimeters. In the shownembodiment, the second hole 32 is formed to the left of the center line26. Such an orientation is arbitrary, and it will be understood that thesecond hole 32 can be disposed to the right side of the center line 26if preferred by a manufacturer.

Referring to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 in conjunction with FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, itcan be seen that the first hole 30 and the second hole 32 are sized toaccommodate anchoring connectors 34, 36. Accordingly, the anchoringconnectors 34, 36 are spaced in the same manners as the holes 30, 32.Two types of anchoring connectors 34, 36 are used. In the first hole 30,a first anchoring connector 34 is used that can receive and engage oneend of the tethering system 14. The first anchoring connector 34 has alateral post 38 or an equivalent structure around which one end of thetethering system 14 can be cinched or clipped. In the second hole 32, asecond anchoring connector 36 is used that includes a first half of amechanical fastener 40, such as a female snap fastener, a female keyholefastener or a female slot fastener. The first half of the mechanicalconnector 40 is either flush with the top surface 16 of the sports board12 or recessed below the top surface 16 of the sports board 12. In thismanner, should a person's foot or body pass over the second anchoringconnector 36, the second anchoring connector 36 will not causediscomfort.

Referring to FIG. 5 in conjunction with FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, it can beseen that the tethering system 14 includes a flexible tether 42 and awrist/ankle strap 44. The flexible tether 42 can be a length of strap ora length of cordage. The flexible tether 42 can also be slightlyelastic. The flexible tether 42 has a first end 46 and an oppositesecond end 48. The first end 46 of the flexible tether 42 is attached tothe first anchoring connector 34. The first end 46 of the flexibletether 42 can be permanently sewn around the lateral post 38 of thefirst anchoring connector 34. However, the first end 46 preferablyterminates with a clip 49 or a simple loop. This enables the first end46 of the flexible tether 42 to selectively engage the first anchoringconnector 34. The opposite second end 48 of the flexible tether 42 iseither formed into or terminates with the wrist/ankle strap 44. Thewrist/ankle strap 44 is an open length of material 52 having hook andloop material, or a similar closure, that enables the length of material52 to be closed into a loop around an ankle or a wrist. A second half ofa mechanical fastener 41 is attached to the length of material 52. Thesecond half of the mechanical fastener 41 on the wrist/ankle strap 44interconnects with the first half of the mechanical fastener 40 used onthe second anchoring connector 36. Accordingly, if a female snapfastener is used in the second anchoring connector 36, the correspondingmale snap fastener is used on the wrist/ankle strap 44. Accordingly, thewrist/ankle strap 44 can be selectively attached to, and detached from,the second anchoring connector 36.

Referring to FIG. 6 in combination with all previous figures, it can beseen that the tethering system 14 is long enough to extend from thefirst anchoring connector 34 to the second anchoring connector 36. Thefirst end 46 of the flexible tether 42 is attached to the firstanchoring connector 34. The wrist/ankle strap 44 can be selectivelyattached to the second anchoring connector 36. The result is that thetethering system 14 converts into a functional shoulder strap 60. Theshoulder strap 60 can be used to carry the sports board 12 on a person'sshoulders. With the sports board 12 flush against a person's back, thetethering system 14/shoulder strap 60 crosses the torso and enables thesports board 12 to be carried on the back in a hands-free manner.

Referring to FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, an alternate embodiment of a boardassembly 70 is shown. In this embodiment, the sports board 72 is atraditional surfboard. When surfing, surfers tend to use long tethers toprevent the surfboard from colliding with the surfer in the chaos of awave.

In the shown embodiment, there are three anchoring connectors 74, 76, 78used on the sports board 72. The first anchoring connector 74 ispositioned along the center line 80 of the sports board 72. The secondanchoring connector 76 and the third anchoring connector 78 are offsetfrom the center line 80 and are symmetrically disposed on opposite sidesof the center line 80. The first anchoring connector 74 is equidistantfrom both the second anchoring connector 76 and the third anchoringconnector 78.

A tethering system 82 is provided that includes a tether 84 with a firstend 86 and an opposite second end 88. The first end 86 of the tether 84is selectively attachable to the first anchoring connector 74 in thesame manner as was previously described for the first embodiment. Theopposite second end 88 of the tether 84 terminates with wrist/anklestrap 90. The wrist/ankle strap 90 can also connect to the firstanchoring connector 74. Otherwise, the wrist/ankle strap 90 can beattached to the tether 84 near the first anchoring connector 74.

Mechanical fasteners 92, 94 are disposed on the tether 84 that enablethe tether 84 to selectively attach to both the second anchoringconnector 76 and the third anchoring connector 78, respectively. Themechanical fasteners 92, 94 can be snaps or any other low-profileconnector that does not present a scratch hazard. The first mechanicalfastener 92 is fastened to the second anchoring connector 76. Thiscreates a first shoulder strap 96. The tether 84 is then crossed overthe sports board 72 and attached to the third anchoring connector 78.The tether 84 is then extended from the third anchoring connector 78back to the first anchoring connector 74. This produces a secondshoulder strap 98. The first shoulder strap 96 and the second shoulderstrap 98 are then used to lift and carry the sports board 72 on aperson's back. Once the sports board 72 is carried to a selecteddestination, the tether 84 is detached from the second anchoringconnector 76 and the third anchoring connector 78. The sports board 72and the tethering system 82 can then be used in the traditional manner.

It will be understood that the embodiments of the present invention thatare illustrated and described are merely exemplary and that a personskilled in the art can make many variations to those embodiments. Forinstance, the sports board can be any sports board that is used with atethering system. Likewise, length of the tethering system and thematerial selected for the tether are a matter of design choice. All suchembodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the presentinvention as defined by the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A sports board assembly, comprising: a sportsboard having a center line; a first connector anchored to said sportsboard along said center line; a second connector anchored to said sportsboard, wherein said second connector is offset from said center line;and a tethering system that is joined to said first connector andselectively connects to said second connector, wherein said tetheringsystem forms a shoulder strap that extends from said first connector tosaid second connector when said tethering system and said secondconnector are interconnected.
 2. The assembly according to claim 1,wherein said tethering system includes a tether having a first end and asecond end, wherein said first end connects to said first connector andsaid second end terminates with a wrist/ankle strap.
 3. The assemblyaccording to claim 2, wherein a fastener is disposed on said wrist/anklestrap that can selectively interconnect with said second connector. 4.The assembly according to claim 1, wherein said first connector and saidsecond connector are spaced apart by a distance of at least 45centimeters.
 5. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein said secondconnector is offset from said center line by at least 18 centimeters. 6.The assembly according to claim 1, further including a third connectordisposed on said sports board, wherein said third connector is offsetfrom said center line.
 7. The assembly according to claim 6, whereinsaid second connector and said third connector are symmetricallydisposed on opposite sides of said center line.
 8. The assemblyaccording to claim 6, wherein a first fastener is disposed on saidtether that can selectively interconnect with said second connector, anda second fastener is disposed on said tether that can selectivelyinterconnect with said third connector.
 9. The assembly according toclaim 1, wherein said sports board is selected from a group consistingof surfboards and body boards.
 10. A sports board assembly, comprising:a sports board having a center line; a first connector anchored to saidsports board along said center line; a second connector anchored to saidsports board; a shoulder strap that extends between said first connectorand said second connector, wherein said shoulder strap is selectivelydetachable from said second connector, and wherein said shoulder strapcontains a wrist/ankle connector for selectively connecting saidshoulder strap to a person.
 11. The assembly according to claim 10,further including a third connector anchored to said sports boardwherein said shoulder strap that extends between said second connectorto said third connector, and from said third connector back to saidfirst connector.
 12. The assembly according to claim 10, wherein saidfirst connector and said second connector are spaced apart by a distanceof at least 45 centimeters.
 13. The assembly according to claim 12,wherein said second connector is offset from said center line by atleast 18 centimeters.
 14. The assembly according to claim 11, whereinsaid third connector is offset from said center line.
 15. The assemblyaccording to claim 14, wherein said second connector and said thirdconnector are symmetrically disposed on opposite sides of said centerline.
 16. A sports board assembly, comprising: a sports board having atop surface, a first connector and a second connector that are spacedapart by at least 45 centimeters along said top surface; a tether havinga first end and an opposite second end, wherein said first end isconnected to said first connector and wherein a fastener is disposed onsaid tether that enables said tether to selectively connect to saidsecond connector.
 17. The assembly according to claim 16, wherein saidsecond end of said tether terminates with a wrist/ankle strap.
 18. Theassembly according to claim 16, wherein said sports board has a centerline, wherein said first connector is disposed on said center line andsaid second connector is offset from said center line.
 19. The assemblyaccording to claim 16, further including a third connector anchored tosaid sports board wherein said tether extends between said secondconnector to said third connector, and from said third connector back tosaid first connector.